July 21, 2014 The Greening of Waipara

Swale to help with storm water management and quality at Pegasus 

We started our COLD and breezy day up the East Coast headed for Waipara and the wine country.  Along the way we stopped to see the green development of Pegasus before we stopped for our morning tea break.  Here, we saw some of the roadside plantings were natives mixed in with exotics. As with any green development, people tend to take small steps before taking a leap. Once in Waipara we toured two of the many wineries that are participating in the Greening Waipara project – Pegasus and Waipara Hills.  At Pegasus we not only saw how much the native plants have grown in the last several years since being planted, but also got to see the native New Zealand eel.  At Waipara Hills we walked their native gardens and had a great wine tasting session learning about how the grapes are grown and wines are made.

Heading down the path through the Greening Waipara native plant garden at Pegasus winery.

Learning about wine in Waipara.

Next we were off to our accommodation for the night, the Waipara Sleeper Cars, for lunch before our afternoon activities.  After lunch we met up with our ecologist buddy Dr. Colin  Meurk so he could give us some additional information about the Greening Waipara Project and the native plants in the Torlesse and Waipara Springs wineries.  Here, we observed wineries that incorporated natives into biodiversity trails and plantings of “green dots” to bring back native wildlife and spread seeds throughout the Waipara distruct. Many of the biodiversity trails also serve to educate visitors as they sip their glasses of wine. In the late afternoon we met up with Darryl Harris, a fourth generation New Zealand farmer that has been the community leader in the Greening Waipara Project. He continues to lead the effort of planting natives, even when the funding has dwindled.  He explained that his original interest was using native plants to bring predatory insects into and around his grape vines so he did not have to use as much pesticides (saving him money). Now, he feels it is a “win-win” for farmer to restore habitat, but he would really love to see the New Zealand wood pigeon come back to the area.

In the warmth of summer, they are a delightful idea says Meryl  ; )

Exploring the Greening Waipara garden with Colin at the Torlesse winery.

Daryl and Sis watch Bear bring home the sheep to us.

Now, Daryl, among other things, is a sheep farmer and we wanted to see how his new New Zealand sheep herding dog, Bear, did his thing. It was fascinating to watch Bear herd the sheep right back to us. After the demonstration, we went to Darryl’s home for gourmet dinner  - consisting of a lamb and beef roast, Tuscan chicken, and an assortment of vegetables that were to die for!  Marie is an excellent cook and it was topped off with a tasty bit of “pavlova.” Then came the main event– the lip synch contest – which was judged by Colin, Marie, Daryl, and Kate (their daughter).  Erin and Connor won the bragging rights for the year (here is a group performance for your enjoyment), but Daryl’s impromptu Meatloaf song, replete with “motorcycle”, capped off the evening (oh yeah, and so did Coco Chenelle’s six adorable puppies and Bob, Kate’s pet sheep!).

Enjoying an amazing meal all together at the Harris home. 

Marie's Pavlova

Puppies!

Puppies!

Connor and Erin say in New Zealand, "Ain't no mountain high enough!"

Our esteemed judges, Marie, Colin, Daryl, and Kate - Thank you!

Daryl with Tupelo on Bob The Sheep

July 20, 2014 - Otamahua

Our trip to the Rapaki Marae was a truly incredible experience, and the storytelling abilities of our wonderful hosts made it even more captivating and memorable. After the privilege of visiting such a magical place and hearing such colorful and beautiful Maori legends, I will try my best to deliver today’s stories with as much imagery and eloquence possible. It’s hard not to be inspired by the people in this country, especially after the experiences we’ve had.

Group picture in front of the Rapaki meetinghouse

The Squad began the day bright and early after spending the night under one roof in the main Rapaki meetinghouse. We ate a quick breakfast, grabbed hot mugs of tea and coffee to warm our hands and bodies, cleaned up after ourselves, and departed from the marae for the ferry to Quail Island.

Quail Island, also known as Otamahua by the Maori, has an interesting (and mildly creepy) history. It was first used in the nineteenth century as a quarantine island by European travelers, and then as a leper colony several years later. Now, the land is owned by the government, and the Department of Conservation runs the restoration project that we helped with today.

While the weather was not ideal (cold and rainy and cloudy, oh my!), that didn’t stop The Squad from hopping off the ferry to meet up with Ian McLennan, who was our leader for the day. Ian works with the Quail Island Ecological Restoration Trust, an organization with a goal to restore the native forests to the island. The work began in 1998 as part of a thesis project at the University of Canterbury, and has progressed immensely since then. Sixteen years and 80,000 plants later, the island is making a slow but steady recovery to its native and original beauty. Ian noted that he has already seen kererus and bellbirds nesting around the island, which is a great sign.

Because it is difficult for seeds to penetrate the pasture grass that covers a great portion of the island, all of the plants have to be grown in a nursery before being transplanted to their new homes. Planting takes place in August, once the coldest part of the winter is over, and the rest of the year is spent on maintenance work. Our trip to Quail Island reinforced something that we’ve heard from every expert we’ve had the opportunity to talk to thus far: restoration is much, much more than planting a tree and walking away. Projects are not days long or weeks long or months long. Restoration is a commitment of hundreds of years, because forests require hundreds of years to flourish.

Some of the beautiful flora on Quail Island

The Squad helped to move 300 tussock plants to a black tarp where they will rest until August, when they will be planted as part of the restoration project. It took some experimentation with assembly lines and figuring out how not to slip on the muddy terrain, but we were successful in our endeavors.

The crew gathered around the finished product

While Braden and Josh went off on their own to help with a new task, the rest of The Squad followed Ian to a hillside by the ocean, where we transplanted four silver tussock plants. We lovingly named them Travis, Trevor, Tom, and Thelma. We hope they enjoy their new homes!

Three busy bees transplanting Travis the silver tussock

Finishing up the transplants with Thelma!

We also found two trapdoor spiders, which we called Beatrice and Eugenie, and a massive worm, which we called Manfred.

We took a much-needed lunch break and then followed Dr. Hostetler on a tour of the rest of the island. The rain finally started to clear, and we were met with beautiful views of the ocean and mountains around us.

Our beautiful view

On the hike, we made a stop at a rocky area to search for skinks and geckos. We were lucky, and found a Canterbury gecko! These critters are important predators, so we were especially careful not to harm them in our search.

Me with the Canterbury gecko!

In other New Zealand fauna news, we saw several pied shags, coastal birds that reside primarily in the Australia and New Zealand area, resting on a cool shipwreck just off the hillside.

The shipwreck right off the shore

At the end of our hike, we visited a tiny, beautiful beach, where we were met by a massive rainbow. It was the picturesque ending to another wonderful day!

A beautiful ending

We stopped for a tea break at a tiny bar called Port Hole, and then made our way back to Lincoln. It was another successful, fun, and beautiful trip, as it always is in this incredible place. Tomorrow, we’re off on another adventure… fingers crossed it’s just as good as the last!

Wishing you well,

Erin Mags

July 20, 2014 Rapaki Marae - Part Deux

Kia Ora. We had an outstanding time with Yvette and the folks at the Rapaki Marae.  Thank you.
Erin and Dr. H led us well through the Powhiri and we relish the stories we heard of the not only the history of the Marae but also some very personal histories as well of growing up in the area during hard times, returns home, travel to America, and inspiration for conservation. To our amazement, we were also allowed to take some photos to share with you below.

Yvette explains how the Powhiri will work

Looking up inside the Marae at the Great Waka (boat) that caries the creators of this land (the oars can be seen on braces coming down); windows to the heavens

Representation of extinct Haast Eagle

Representation of Kereru, which Maori and conservationists alike hope will be returned to great numbers as the great trees of the country are restored.

The pole that holds up the weight of the Marae is  on the back of a great ancestor;
in this case he was the brother of peace left to guard this area while his father,
who discovered Rapaki, went off to fight more wars.  Our sleeping arrangements can be seen here as well along with some of the beautiful paua shell colours of the Marae and carvings and weavings (ladders going up to the heavens on back wall).

At the entrance to Wheke Marae at Rapaki this morning under rainy skies.

July 19, 2014 - Overnight at Rapaki Marae

Photo from 2009 article about Marae at Rapaki being rebuilt.  

We are getting ready to leave for an overnight at the Rapaki Marae near Lyttelton Harbor.  Generally, these trips are considered sacred and we are not allowed to take photographs, so I am including below the steps we will follow to be called onto the Marae.  Erin will be our female representative and the group will be singing Here Comes The Sun as our song. Our koha is salt water taffy from Daytona Beach, FL and a CD of classic soul songs from 60s from the U.S.A.  Tomorrow we will set off directly from the Marae in the morning to Quail Island for some conservation restoration work that Erin will report on. Warm Regards, Meryl

Powhiri

The powhiri is the welcome ceremony; it involves two groups of people the Tangata Whenua (The hosts of the marae) and the manuhiri (Visitors). It removes the tapu (Sacredness) of the manuhiri to make them one with the tangata whenua and is a gradual process of the manuhiri and the tangata whenua coming together. The whole procedure of coming together is based upon a tradition that is as meaningful today as it is in the past.

The Kai Karanga will call first to indicate to the manuhiri to move forward towards the marae. This is normally answered by a women’s response from the manuhiri. The purpose of the karanga is to provide safe passage for the physical and spiritual of the manuhiri to unite with the physical and spiritual of the tangata whenua.

  

During the Karanga, tangata whenua stand still as the manuhiri move slowly forward until they reach the marae atea (front of wharenui/meeting house), then the manuhiri make there way to the seats. Men sit in front and women behind. Please be seated when Tangata Whenua sit. Depending on the weather powhiri may be outside in front of Wharenui or inside Wharenui, if inside Wharenui it is tradition to please remove shoes.

Tangata Whenua will speak first, and then sing a waiata (song), tangata whenua will then indicate to manuhiri it is there time to speak. A representative from the manuhiri side will then speak followed with a waiata from the rest of the group.

Once the speaker on the manuhiri side has spoke, the manuhiri present tangata Whenua with a koha, koha will be accepted by tangata whenua, tangata whenua may call of thank you.

It is now that the Tangata Whenua will indicate to manuhiri to come in a certain direction for the tradition hongi – pressing of the nose, this shows the coming together of the two groups to be united as one.

To conclude the official welcome kai (food) will be shared between Tangata Whenua and Manuhiri. The act of eating lifts the tapu (sacredness) of the powhiri ritual.

July 18, 2014 A long trip home

After a spectacular yet exhausting previous three days, a relaxing day of travel was needed. Having said this today wasn't without its fair share of amazing sights and fun times. For the third time in four days, the day began with brekky at Maggie's, which I must say was just as good as the first two times we experienced it. You can't help but be in a good mood at this place as the walls are covered with great posters and quotes from customers and the folks working are nothing but smiles and full of jokes. 

Soon after we hit the road on our way back to Lincoln. However, unlike our trip over on Arthur's Pass, we took the northern route through Lewis Pass. These are the only two roads that travel west and east through the Southern Alps. Our first stop along the road was in a small town called Reefton. Although at first sight the town didn’t appear to be much, it has a pretty significant history. In 1888, Reefton was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to have a street lighting system and the power station became the source of the first municipal power supply south of the Equator. The iStop (visitor center) that we went to had some great information about everything in the area from historical gold mining to the timber industry.

Here is a link that has more information about the history of the town.

http://www.reefton.co.nz/reefton/155-the-town-of-light

Our next and final stop before we made it home to Lincoln was at the Goblin Forest. We walked along the St. James Walkway for a short distance through a beech forest. Several of the native species that we have been studying were present including mountain beech, silver beech, and red tussock. The forest had a very eerie look to it so it was understandable why it was called the Goblin Forest. Along the walkway there were some breathtaking views of the snowcapped peaks of the Southern Alps. I must say that the sight never gets old.

The Southern Alps along the Lewis Pass

Trekking through the Goblin Forest. Note the variety of silver and mountain beech.

The Squads best attempt to stay unnoticed in the forest.

Red tussock along the walkway.

In front of the magnificent Southern Alps.

The rest of the five hour drive was spent listening to some quality jams while playing road trip games like 20 questions. We were able to see some of the Wine District. The area experiences a relatively warm climate where the best grapes are grown in New Zealand. We passed several vineyards and got a taste of what may be in store for our trip back there next week.

An intense game of 20 questions in the back of the Gator Waka.Connor prevailed

By the time we got back to the university everybody was more than ready to get out of the car. Dinner was tasty fried fish among other things. All of the students are back from break now so the cafeteria was packed compared to our previous couple of weeks on campus.

All in all it was another quality day in paradise.

I would sadly like to say goodbye to Breion Long who was taken from us way too soon on Monday. Rest In Peace Buddy. You are remembered and loved by many.

Braden